Michael Aldag
Meet Michael Aldag an article by: Eline Klaessens
When Michael Aldag was seven years old, the seed for his love for music got planted. He sang Silent Night in his school’s nativity play before his teacher told him to start singing in choir. Things went from there and at the age of fourteen the seed really started blooming, because that’s when he started writing his own songs. The first being Justice For The 96, a tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster. (This song isn’t available on any streaming platforms though.) That’s also when his mother accompanied him at open mics in dingy little venues around Liverpool and Merseyside, where he got to perform for a few people. Recent developments in Michael's career quite strongly contrast with that, because a while ago he sold out three headline shows and his online following keeps growing more and more each day. The musician now is nineteen years old and has seven songs out, Trust Funds being the most recent one. This song is about the middle-class lifestyle and the privilege that comes with it. Shakespeare And The Bible, a song that’s available on Soundcloud and Youtube, also touches on the topic privilege. It was written last year and it’s supposed to make us all aware of the role class has played in the pandemic. Besides that Michael has written about topics ranging from self-love, to the breakup he went through, to nights out with friends. The lyrics of these songs are very raw, honest and basically give the listener an insight into his life, which is probably what makes his music so appealing to teenagers in particular. The majority of things he sings about are part of the average human experience, which is something that makes the music relatable and teenagers these days seem to find a great deal of comfort in that. The cleverly written lyrics convey messages and emotion clearly, yet leave some room for individual interpretation. While singing Michael fulfills the words with that emotion as if he's not only giving the words power by singing them, but also himself. This is especially noticeable in his songs Entitled and Divorce. The sound of Michael’s music now is very synth-based. Where he started off with the guitar as the centrepiece of his music, it has now slightly faded into the background. This is the case because he found out that he prefers making music the electronic way over the acoustic way at the age of sixteen, when he started getting into producing as well. Michael’s most important motivation to write songs is the expression of his own emotions and the cathartic effect it has. He once said it in a TikTok live: “When you’re not feeling too good and you can’t figure out why, it helps to write a song. You can figure it out from there.” Besides the fact that it helps him personally, the music he writes alone in his bedroom also helps other people, which is something the musician greatly appreciates. Overall it only seems fair to say the little Silent Night-singing ginger boy with the tea towel on his head has come a long way and has great potential to grow out to be a big star. The world should most definitely consider keeping an eye out for Michael Aldag.